The Irish Independent can now reveal that the historic property has been bought by Oscar-winning actor and producer Cillian Murphy and his wife, the artist Yvonne McGuinness, for an undisclosed sum. After 105 years in operation as a movie theatre and dance hall, The Phoenix will remain independently owned.
The storied venue has been named in Time Out as “one of the 50 best cinemas in the UK and Ireland”.
The mosaic which depicts the mythical bird which gives the cinema its name
“I’ve been going to see films at the Phoenix since I was a young boy on summer holidays,” Murphy said. “My Dad saw movies there when he was a young man before me, and we’ve watched many films at the Phoenix with our own kids. We recognise what the cinema means to Dingle.”
McGuinness said: “We want to open the doors again, expand the creative potential of the site, re-establishing its place in the cultural fabric of this unique town.”
A short stroll from Dingle Harbour, the cinema is situated in the town centre. The sole cinema on the Dingle Peninsula (the nearest multiplex is 30 miles away), the Phoenix is also the only cinema in a Gaeltacht area in Ireland, a fact which will be acknowledged in its new programming. For the last several years a campaign has run in the town with the aim of preserving it as a cinema and cultural centre.
The cinema has a storied history, having been built by brothers Jimmy and Johnny Houlihan and opened in 1919.
Following devastating fires in both 1921 and 1938, the venue was reconstructed twice. The current name, art deco façade and and unique floor mosaic of the mythical phoenix bird were added during the second rebuild.
Over the following decades the Phoenix became Dingle’s Cinema Paradiso, a place that inspired generations of movie goers and artists. In the 1950s, the Houlihans sold the Phoenix to John Moore and it continued to function as a cinema, concert venue and dancehall at the peak of the showband era.
Queues outside the Phoenix Cinema during the final Dingle Film Festival, held in 2019. Photo: Declan Malone
Rory Gallagher performed in the cinema in 1964. Over 12 days in June and July 1972, crowds flocked to the cinema to see early showings of David Lean’s Ryan’s Daughter, which was filmed on the peninsula.
‘Bionn rudaí maithe mall’ – Murphy and McGuinness
Driven mainly by his passion for film, the late Michael ‘Francie’ O’Sullivan bought the Phoenix in 1978 and it reopened in 1980 with new plush seating and an energy which brought a mixture of blockbusters and art house fare to the town. In 1992 the cinema was also the site of the premiere of Far & Away, which was attended by the movie’s stars, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. In recent years, the O’Sullivan family have had to deal with rising costs and falling attendances and in 2021 the cinema closed its doors.
Now, thanks to the investment of Murphy and McGuinness, the Phoenix will open again. After three years on the market, they will begin the repair and refurbishment of the cinema next year. A press release for the purchase added: ‘Bíonn rudaí maithe mall’ (good things are slow).